Cellulose acetate electrophoresis is presently a recommended first step in screening for hemoglobinopathies. Hemoblobin separations on cellulose acetate are not always definitive for identifying the particular abnormal hemoglobin, however, cellulose acetate electrophoresis will show any abnormal hemoglobin if it is present. The proposed research is to perform studies on automated separations of hemoglobins using an automated electrophoresis instrument developed during previous grant periods. Electrophoresis is performed on cellulose acetate tapes, 7.5 cm wide at pH 8.4. The rate of analysis is 60 samples and 60 standards per hour. At least 10,000 samples will be included in a statistical analysis of both in-batch, and day-to-day precision; accuracy will be analyzed using comparison with reference methods. The study required production f the cellulose acetate tape, which is not available commercially. To reduce the number of follow-up procedures required to specifically:ident ify the abnormal hemoglobins, it will also be attempted to establish a pH gradient across the cellulose acetate tape and thus perform isoelectric focusing automatically.